If we think that we just can't  for one more day...for one more trial...for one more minute... HANG ON!  Because we can.   Today is not our giving-up day. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.  ~Philippians 4:13   ~~~ I know it feels as if there is no point.   That there is no one that cares.   Not a soul who  sees and understands  what we have on our shoulders...or what is breaking our hearts. But... Beloved , there is  Someone Who sees all...and Who sees us.   Who loves  us, and Who is not-giving-up  on us.  Ever.   So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God.   I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.   ~Isaiah 41:10 Today is not our giving-up day. ~~~ I know that we don't deserve the scourging that this scoffing world steadily applies to our spirits.  I rea...

Besides, sleeping...what fills the hours of our days and nights?  Of course, our answers may vary from day to day, as schedules vary, but then again, for many of us, the activities might change, but for the most part, we spend our time in similar ways every day. Well--guess what I did for almost two hours yesterday.? Cleaned elderberries .  I didn't shuck  elderberries (remove them from the stem of the bush that they grew on, and into a bowl or pan), because my husband had dutifully (and happily) already shucked the berries ( many berries! ) the day before.  That is partly why I was cleaning them (removing any tiny leftover stems/hardened berries/over-ripe berries) yesterday: I needed to clean the elderberries for cooking preparation, so that we wouldn't lose  the berries to spoiling. Shucking and cleaning elderberries are both huge and time consuming jobs, and as I stood at my kitchen counter searching for imperfections in a sea of tiny deep purple bulbs, I beg...

At church this week, God spoke to us .  Not outloud, but through His Word.  As the pastor read the Bible, we heard the Lord speaking to our hearts ... and it was wild, uncanny even.   It got to the point where people in our row were elbowing each other in awe, and some even started to laugh a little, because the Scriptures were so timely that it was almost shocking...until we remembered Who wrote them: the One who knows  you and me intimately.   The author of our lives. ... fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.   ~Hebrews 12:2 When God "reads your diary" from His Word, it's a little scary,   It's a little exciting.  But mostly it is comforting.  And i t wasn't just me feeling it, hearing it ...and absorbing these Bible verses as my  Bible verses.  It was a number of us, and it very well might be you too.   Whatever  we are walking through today--God knows a-l-l  abou...

It's sort of a long story, and (to be honest), I don't know the full-origin of it, but a (fun!) cousin of my dad's who lived in California, used to bring a box of chocolates when she visited our family in Ohio.  I remember the square and round chocolate-covered delicacies, and the box said: See's Candies.   My heart remembers that box...and now and then when life's travels blow us westward, we will sometimes visit a city that boasts a "See's Candies" chocolate boutique.  I like to stop in and look around, and if nothing else...I love to sniff the chocolate air. But when we visited a Sees's Candies shop recently in Arizona, we had the blessing of doing more than just breathe the candies.  The (kind and generous) lady at the counter seemed to be waiting  to give us samples to enjoy.    Yes, I said samples , plural, and even as we entered the store, I saw her scoop up a piece of dark-chocolate goodness for each of us as we walked toward the glass-wi...

Look out .  ...God's on to us.   We might say the right things and we might even be doing  the right things, but are we sincere and reverent  and sold out  for our Lord today? The answer (for some of us) is " No ", and God knows it.   I was convicted and inspired  when God called me (us?) on the carpet about this in His Word today.   The prophet Malachi does not mince words because God has instructed Him to speak His Truth, and so Malachi  does.   Malachi brings it , and look out , because it's apparent from what we read in the Bible today that  God's on to us.   If we are not fully living-for-Him, (and that means respecting Him and honoring God  fully )...then we need to know that God knows. And He is not  pleased with our half-hearted offering to Him.  ( I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies  ~Malachi 1:10). Malachi Chapter 1 and 2 might  not apply to...